The image of Buddha, who was called
The Greatest Yogin of all Times, expresses serene quiescence. The
harmony of his physical proportions is the expression of great beauty.
The required measurements are laid down in the canon (or standard
pattern) of Buddhist art, which corresponds to ideal physical proportions.
The span is the basic measure, i.e. the distance from the tip of
the middle finger to the tip of the thumb of the outspread hand.
This distance corresponds to the space between the dimple in the
chin and the hair-line. Each span has twelve finger-breadths. The
whole figure measures 108 finger-breadths or 9 spans corresponding
to the macro-micro-cosmic harmony measurements.

The perfect proportions
of a Buddha, the graciousness of his physical form, represent one
of the ten qualities or powers of a Buddha. They are the characteristics
of the physical harmony and beauty of a Great Being, and are described
in Story of the Life of Buddha Shakyamuni. There are thirty-two
major and eighty minor characteristics. The lines of the eight-spoked
on the soles and palms of a Buddha are among them. The appearance
and the measurements of a Buddha are perishable and a worldly conception:
they describe the ideal picture of a Heavenly Body. They are not
subject to change like growth, sickness and death, which can only
affect the earthly incarnation of a Buddha.

Examining the canon of the body of
a Buddha, one realises that every detail represents harmonious proportions.
Everything, the spot between the eyebrows, marking the eye of wisdom,
as well as the tip of the nose, has its own special place. The nose
has its specific length, just as the ears have their own characteristically
exaggerated length. The symbol of a Buddha's greatest enlightenment
is the so-called enlightenment-elevation on the top of the head,
described in old texts as that which emerges out of the head of
an enlightened saint. It is the visible symbol of the spiritual
generative power that strives towards heaven and passes into the
immaterial sphere.

The ideal proportions of any image
of the Buddha are described in books on iconography. The canonic
prototype shows the seated Buddha with his legs crossed and the
soles of his feet visible. This yoga-posture has a pre-Buddhist
tradition in India, appearing for the first time on the seals of
Mohenjodaro in the third millennium BC. This yoga-posture hides
the lower part of the body. The broad shoulders are emphasised in
early Buddhist sculptures of Mathura. These characteristics, and
the slightly almond eye of Buddha Sakyamuni, hint at his descent
from the Licchavi clan, related to the Proto-Tibetans by kinship
and blood. Before the final domination of the Indo-Europeans, these
Licchavis ruled in northern India and the Himalayan regions. Their
principalities had democratic constitutions with equal rights and
no discrimination of sex or race. Buddhism and its founder must
be considered on the basis of this social structure which is confirmed
in the oldest texts as well as in the modern Oxford History of India.

Physical Marks

Ushnisha, the Enlightenment Elevation
above the fontanelle; is the flame-topped elevation on the head
of the Buddha, defined as that which emerges from the head of a
Fully Enlightened One.

Urna, the mark in the centre of the
forehead, called the Eye of Wisdom, also depicted as a Bundle of
Rays or fine hairs between the eyebrows.

The lower part of the body is covered
by the Diamond-Seat (Vajrasana). This is the meditation
pose (Dhayanasana) of utmost concentration with the legs
crossed so that the soles are visible.

The Subtle
Energy-Spheres of the Body

The Enlightenment-Centre, the Top of
the Head or fontanelle above the upper cerebrum, called Sphere of
the Thousand-petalled Lotus(SAHASHRARA-CAKRA).

The cerebral centre of thinking and
conscious-power, called Command-Centre(AJNA-CAKRA), the forehead between the eyebrows; ascribed to lotus-centre.

The guttural centre or subtle Sphere
of Speech(VISHUDDHA-CAKRA)at
the base of the throat.

The cardiac plexus, the emotional Sphere
of the Inner Voice (ANAHATA-CAKRA), called the Source of the Heart, situated in the central region
of the thorax or chest.

The solar plexus with the gastric plexus,
called `the brain of the belly', Fiery-lustrous or Navel-Centre
(MANIPURA- CAKRA)
in the region of the loins and connected with the lumbar plexus.

The sacral plexus, called Root-Centre(MULADHARA-CAKRA)
or Secret Place, being the root of all streams of vital energy (NADIS) in the region of the rump-bone or sacrum.

The human body is the receptacle of
the power of thinking described as a bundle of energy and pervaded
by the so-called breath of life flowing in subtle streams throughout
the body.